The Healer (3.5e Class)

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The hurts of the world are many fold. Minor accidents are common, and usually easily dealt with. However, when conflict and all-out warfare occur, they leave misery and hurt in their wake that can stagger the imagination. While good-aligned clerics are called upon to heal, the complex obligations and abilities often get in the way of pure solace and remediation. Not so the healer. One of the healer’s great purposes in life is to provide protection, and failing that, healing, to all good people who require her aid.

This class was written in response to the disappointment of the 'Healer' class originally published in the Miniatures Handbook, by Wizards of the Coast. The original class was both underpowered and very limiting in a campaign (yes, I played it) because it had a small spell list. This class, while continuing in the healer spirit, attempts to become a superior healer to that of the Cleric or Druid players by providing a larger spell list, which contains both healing and protection spells, and a longer spellcaster stamina.

Adventures: The healer provides aid to members of her adventuring company, the soldiers of her religion, or the alliance to which she is pledged. When a battlefield is strewn with wounded allies or an expedition team’s members are sorely hurt, a healer cures the injuries of the faithful and those who have allied themselves the side of good. A healer might accept a commission to escort a company or war band on dangerous missions, making herself available to cast diving protections and offer divine healing. The healer is much revered for her services, and she may ask her companions for faith praise to her deity – or at least an equal share in a reward garnered after the successful conclusion of the adventure or military action.

Characteristics: Healers are masters of preventative and curative magic, out-pacing even clerics in this regard. This focus on healing comes with a trade-off: a healer’s spell list is sharply constrained, and it lacks destructive and violent magic. Healers have some combat capability and are familiar with basic weapons and some armor.

Alignment: Dedicating one’s life to curative magic requires a good alignment.

Religion: Healers revere good-aligned deities or righteous causes.

Background: Some healers are unofficially attached members of religious organizations. Others wander the lands freely, either alone or in adventuring companies. Many also take up service in armies that combat evil, repel invasions, or otherwise “fight the good fight.” Healing all allies, while at the same time eschewing the use of violent spells requires a selfless quality and dedication to good. A healer must be gentile, but also string in her convictions.

Races: The need for healing knows no racial boundaries, and healers include members of all the common races. Adventuring healers are most often humans and elves. Healers are less common among the dwarves who would rather prevent wounds than cure them.

Other classes: The healer is rarely snubbed in an adventuring company. All realize that her presence could be the advantage that enables them to see their next quest through to the end. Healers sometimes clash with clerics, since clerics represent a more dogmatic view of faith and reverence toward the deities.

Role: A healers role is easy to spot. She moves about behind the adventuring party or combat unit, applying her divine skills to bring relief to the injured. After she passes the wounded press forward with renewed vigor, and the fallen may yet rise again.

Weapon and Armor Proficiency: Healers are proficient with all simple weapons and light armor. Additionally, a healer who uses metal armor or any kind of shield is severely hampered. The armor of a healer is restricted by traditional oaths, not simply training. A healer knows how to wear light metal armor and could become proficient with medium or heavy armor, but wearing metal armor or bearing a shield would violate her oath and suppress her healer powers. Her ethos requires a certain vulnerability that allows her to more fully empathize with those in their care. A healer who uses prohibited armor is unable to cast her spells or use any of her supernatural or spell-like class features while doing so and for 24 hours after the armor is taken off.

Healing Hands (Ex): Whenever a healer casts a spell that cures hit point damage, she adds her Charisma modifier to the amount of damage healed. For instance, if a 5th level healer with 18 Charisma casts cure light wounds, she cures 1d8+5 points of damage normal, plus an additional 4 points of damage due to her Charisma bonus. This bonus applies only to spells of the healing subschool that she casts as a healer, not to those that she may have by virtue of levels in another class.

Lay of Hands(Su): Beginning at 1st level, a healer with a Charisma score of 12 or higher can heal wounds (her own or those of others) by touch. Each day she can heal a total number of hit points of damage equal to her Healer level × her Charisma Bonus. A Healer may choose to divide her healing among multiple recipients, and she doesn't have to use it all at once. Using Lay of Hands is a standard action.

Alternatively, a Healer can use any amount or all of this healing power to deal damage to undead creatures. Using Lay on Hands in this way requires a successful melee touch attack and doesn't provoke an attack of opportunity. The Healer decides how many of her daily allotment of points to use as damage after successfully touching an undead creature.

Spell-like Power (Sp): At 2nd level, and every second level thereafter, a Healer can convert one of her spells into a spell-like ability. This spell’s usage per day is determined by what the difference between the highest level spell she can cast and the chosen spell level, plus one. For example, a Healer of 5th level has access to 3rd level spells. If she chooses to promote a 3rd level spell to spell-like status, that spell can only be used once per day (Access to 3rd level – chosen 3rd level spell + 1). However, if she chooses a 0th level spell, she will be able to use that spell 4 times per day (Access to 3rd level – chosen 0th level spell + 1). Previous chosen spell-like abilities increase in spell usage per day as the Healer increases her spell knowledge

Perfect Health (Ex): At 3rd level, a Healer gains Immunity to all diseases, including supernatural and magical diseases.

Augment Healing: At 4th level, a Healer gains Augment Healing (from the Complete Divine) as a bonus feat, even if she does not have the normal prerequisites for that feat. If she already has the feat, she can choose a metamagic feat.

Skill Focus (Heal): A healer’s focused training grants her this bonus feat at 3rd level. If she already has that feat, she many choose a different one.

Effortless Healing (Ex): At 5th level, a healer has learned to cast spells of the healing subschool with minimal effort. She may cast such spells without provoking attacks of opportunity. This ability applies only to spells of the healing subschool that she casts as a healer, not to those that she may have by virtue of levels in another class. She also gains an extra standard action to cast a spell from The Healer's spell-list; this does not apply to spells gained in another class.

More Perfect Body (Su): At the 6th level, a healer gains immunity to all poisons, of any kind.

Potent Healing (Su): At 7th level, the Healer can make a Heal skill check to increase the potency of her healing spell. Upon a successful Heal check (DC 10 + spell level + 5), her healing spell is automatically maximized to its full potential.

Divine Insight (Su): At 11th level, the Healer can use her Wisdom to increase the Armor Class of her targets. When she casts any healing spell, her target gains an Insight AC bonus equal to that of her Wisdom modifier. This spell lasts for 1min/caster level.

Spells: A healer casts divine spells, which are drawn from the healer spell list given below. A healer must choose and prepare her spells in advance. To prepare or cast a spell, a healer must have a Charisma score of 10 + the spell’s level (Cha 10 for 0-level spells, Cha 11 for 1st level spells, and so forth). The Difficulty Class for a saving throw against a healer’s spell is 10 + the spell’s level + the healer’s Charisma modifier. Like other spellcasters, a healer can cast only a certain number of spells of each spell per day. Her base daily spell allotment is given in Table 1-4. In addition, she receives bonuses spells per day if she has a high Charisma score. Healers do not acquire spells from books or scrolls, nor do they prepare them through study. Instead, they meditate or pray for their spells, receiving them through their own strength of faith. Each healer must choose a time at which she must spend 1 hour each day in quiet contemplation or supplication to regain her daily allotment of spells. Time spend resting has no effect on weather a healer can prepare spells. A healer may prepare and cast any spell on that heal spell list, provided she can cast spells of that level, but she must choose which spells to prepare during her daily meditation. Healers choose their spells from the following list:

A healer who grossly violates her ethos (such as by refusing to heal an ally or a good-aligned creature) loses all spells and class features (except for proficiency with simple weapons and light armor). She cannot thereafter gain levels as a healer until she atones.